Product Library / Water Protection & Plumbing

Protocols: WIFI · PROPRIETARY-RF-915MHZ^{[1][17][20][37][55]}

Plans and ongoing costs^{[3][11][21][22][39][43][56][60]}

✓ Works without a subscription: Yes.

Vendor account required: Yes — you must create a vendor account to use it.^[13][26][45]

The paid tier is gone, and Flume says so in its own words: 'Flume no longer has a subscription or any recurring fees.' The same article adds that Flume Insight, the $49.99-a-year plan this record used to describe, was cancelled for direct customers by Flume itself, and Flume's fees article agrees: customers who buy direct get no monthly fees and full access to the core features, leak detection included. Two caveats survive, both stated by Flume and neither about buying the device yourself. Certain insurance programmes do carry a yearly fee, so a unit that arrived through an insurer may cost something this record does not describe. And for a device that came through a utility or insurer programme, 'features and fees may vary': same hardware, different terms depending on who gave it to you. This record listed a paid tier until 2026-08-26; that tier no longer exists.

Maintenance and offline use^[1]

• Batteries: 4 Lithium Metal AA batteries (sensor only; the Bridge is mains-powered)
• Works without the internet: No — the core function depends on the vendor's servers, so an outage takes it with them.^[12][25][44]
• Two pieces, and both matter for placement. The sensor straps to the outside of your existing water meter, with no plumbing work, no pipe cutting and no shutoff, and reads the meter's magnetic field; Flume claims self-installation in under ten minutes and compatibility with 95% of homes, with a meter checker on its site. It is rated for two-foot immersion (meter pits flood), works outdoors, and measures 2.45 x 3.4 x 5.7 inches. The bridge plugs into an indoor outlet, measures 1.9 x 4.4 x 2.3 inches, joins 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and works from 32 °F to 158 °F. The sensor talks to the bridge by radio with a stated reach of up to 1,000 feet, which is why a meter at the street is usually still workable. It measures to a hundredth of a gallon, with real-time flow, an indoor-versus-outdoor split, and per-fixture attribution (toilets, showers, dishwashers, softeners, sprinklers). Battery life is not published and is left blank rather than estimated. Beyond the five main platforms, Flume documents connections to Rain Bird and Orbit B-hyve irrigation controllers, a YoLink shutoff valve, and access for your own software; it states outright that it does not work with Rachio.
• Security updates: No security-update support date is on record for this model yet. We haven't yet checked whether Flume publishes one, so this is a gap in our research — not a statement about the manufacturer.

Who it's for

A fit for a household that wants to see and understand its water — real-time flow, per-fixture attribution, indoor versus outdoor split — and to be warned about leaks, without touching plumbing or hiring anyone. Renters can install it if they have access to the meter, and it suits homes where the meter sits in a pit at the street, since the sensor is IP67 and reaches the Bridge over 915 MHz. It fits Home Assistant households especially well, because that is the one platform that can act on a leak signal. Look elsewhere if you need the water actually shut off, if you want Apple Home or SmartThings, if you need alerts that work without internet, or if your meter is one of the incompatible minority — check Flume's meter tool first. Alexa and Google users should know they get a voice assistant that can answer questions about water but not raise the alarm. Nothing about this device is subscription-gated for a direct purchase; a Flume account, however, is not optional — Flume states you must create one to use the product.

Sources & method

Numbered sources below back the facts marked with the matching number above. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →

Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.